Acute liver failure (ALF), or fulminant hepatic failure, is a distinct clinical syndrome which crosses medical disciplines. A relatively rare condition, ALF remains a major focus of clinical and research attention and with the advent of transplantation, the importance of understanding management of ALF has taken on a new urgency. In this 1997 volume, the editors bring together a distinguished team of contributors to describe the aetiology, pathology and treatment of this important syndrome. Also covered are consensus techniques in liver transplantation for ALF patients, as well as descriptions of artificial and bioartificial liver assist devices. A section on future treatments includes hepatocyte transplantation, auxiliary grafts and other temporary liver support. Notable for the high level of authors' expertise, this comprehensive volume should prove invaluable to internists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, and intensive care providers.

Acute liver failure (ALF), or fulminant hepatic failure, is a distinct clinical syndrome which crosses medical disciplines. A relatively rare condition, ALF remains a major focus of clinical and research attention and with the advent of transplantation, the importance of understanding management of ALF has taken on a new urgency. In this 1997 volume, the editors bring together a distinguished team of contributors to describe the aetiology, pathology and treatment of this important syndrome. Also covered are consensus techniques in liver transplantation for ALF patients, as well as descriptions of artificial and bioartificial liver assist devices. A section on future treatments includes hepatocyte transplantation, auxiliary grafts and other temporary liver support. Notable for the high level of authors' expertise, this comprehensive volume should prove invaluable to internists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, and intensive care providers.

Portal hypertension is the abnormal pathophysiologic state that develops in liver cirrhosis and certain other disorders with characteristic clinical and hemodynamic features. There has been great progress in our under standing and management of portal hypertension, particularly in the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The so-called Banti's syndrome, a disorder whose existence had long been questioned, is now a well-defined portal hypertensive disease. The recently introduced Doppler ftowmetry is currently yielding new information on portal hemodynamics. Endoscopic sclerotherapy and beta-blockers have come to be widely used in the man agement and prevention of variceal bleeding. In spite of all these advances, a number of unsolved questions remain, such as whether sclerotherapy, pharmacotherapy or surgery is warranted for prevention of bleeding, which is more effective as an elective treatment, the surgical or endoscopic approach, and whether surgical portacaval shunt should be totally replaced by selective shunt operations. These new developments and problems are clearly and comprehensively described and discussed by the foremost authorities in 44 chapters, which are divided into five sections: 1) Patho physiology, 2) Hemodynamic Investigations, 3) Imaging Investigations, 4) Clinical and Pathological Features, and 5) Esophageal and Gastrointestinal Bleeding. The primary goal of this monograph, to provide a framework of patho physiology of portal hypertension with authoritative descriptions of the clinical and laboratory manifestations of various portal hypertensive dis orders, has clearly been achieved by these excellent contributions.